April 11 – Petropólis

Another sunny day as we head out at 8:30 for the 2+ hour drive to PetróIpolis.  Once out of Rio proper the way started getting more mountainous.  Most of the drive was through these mountains and it was beautiful.

We stopped at an overlook for some photos.  Margaret said this was the best view on the entire drive.

We pulled off the road and headed into Petropolis with the first stop at Quintandinha, a beautiful old building with a Bavarian/German flavor in the exterior architecture.  This building was a former old casino.  It was built in 1941 and was the largest casino in South America at the time.  Much of it is now luxury apartments with the remaining portion used for events.

We were able to go inside to see the lobby and a side corridor but nothing else.  Pretty opulent. 

It overlooks a large pond.

From there we drove to the Imperial Museum.  The building was the palace of the Portuguese Royal family who exiled in Brazil in order to escape Napoleon.  No photos allowed inside.

Petropolis was the summer home of the Brazilian Royal Family.  Such an interesting history.  They fled Brazil when threatened by Napoleon...at that time the only European Monarchs to ever “visit“ one of their colonies.    

So the King of Portugal became the Emperor of Brazil.  Later, when the Portugal was freed from the French the King went back to Portugal to take back his throne.  His son, Dom Pedro I stayed in Brazil as the Emperor and began to make reforms.  When called back to Portugal by his father he refused and stayed in Brazil.  Brazil  abolished the monarch in 1889

We took a walk along a canal lined with lovely old homes…

and stopped at the Cathedral of Saint Peter of Alcantara.

Tombs of some of the Royal Family

The drive then took us past the Crystal Palace, a large, 19th century greenhouse.  Nothing is inside right now so we didn't stop. 

From there we were done with the day’s sightseeing and were dropped off at our hotel, Pousada Solar do Imperio, a beautiful 19^th century mansion.  The grounds were lovely, the room large and comfortable, 

and the dining room had lovely murals and huge window.

We had lunch in the dining room and dinner at a nearby restaurant.  

The hotel at night.